Media files containing audio and video signals are commonly played using media player applications running on electronic devices, such as desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, mobile phones, and the like. Devices such as these are employed with combined hardware and software techniques that can be utilized to provide cooperative multitasking which enables multiple applications to be run simultaneously. For example, one media player application can be run alongside an enterprise resource planning (ERP) or business management application.
Running a media player application which renders multimedia attributes, such as audio and video contents alongside two or more equally resource-intensive applications often consumes extraordinary fractions of system resources of electronic devices which can cause them to stop responding. These resources may include at least one of the following in whole or in part: processor cycles, memory, bandwidth reception, drivers, battery state of charge, and disk input/output operations. It is therefore desirable to handle attributes of multimedia resources being played by media player applications in such a way that system resources of electronic devices running them are kept to a minimum level.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,066,124 published and issued to Acer Incorporated on 23 Jun. 2015 discloses methodologies for control of an application executed at an electronic device. The prior methodologies comprise using the application to process video signals and associated audio signals provided from a source for playback at the electronic device. The prior methodologies further comprise detecting that the video/audio application has been placed into the background, terminating processing of the video signal, and continuing to process the audio signals even though the video signals are no longer processed.
In accordance with the new video/audio switching techniques of the cited prior methodologies, when the electronic device enters a system suspend state, the video/audio application continues to run. However, in this arrangement, the processing of the video signals is terminated, but the audio signals are still played. As such, when in the suspend state, a user may still be able to listen to the audio signals associated with video signals, even though the video signals are no longer processed and displayed on the electronic device. This configuration in which audio is continued to be played while the video processing is terminated conserves power, but also improves user experience because, while in the suspend state, the video/audio application and the audio application operate substantially the same (i.e., audio is still played to the user even though the device is in a suspended state).
The cited prior methodologies employ control of an application which is directed to, or in the form of, a software plug-in that controls an application executed to process and playback video and associated audio signals received from a source. The plug-in is configured to detect that the application has been placed into the background, and terminate processing of the video signals without affecting processing and playback of the audio signals, wherein the application continues to run with the audio only until it is terminated, suspended, or placed into the foreground.
A problem associated with the cited prior methodologies is that the termination of the processing of the video signals, while it conserves computational resources of electronic devices, requires reloading of the terminated processes associated with the video signals when there is a need to do so in the case where the video/audio application is placed from one operating state to another (e.g., from background to foreground). Re-initializing a once terminated process associated with the processing of video signals introduces significant delay in loading the video/audio application and/or rendering the contents associated with the video signals. Such delay can significantly impede and/or interfere with an optimal responsive performance of an electronic device running the application.
There is therefore a need for computer-implemented arrangements which minimize use of system resources of an electronic device when processing media signals based on operating state-dependent handling of attributes of multimedia resources, such as audio and video signals, and which also prevents processing delays that can impede and/or interfere with the electronic device's optimal responsive performance.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.